Movement patterns of ﬁve
Acrocephalus warblers were studied using the
mist-netting method in postbreeding periods
1999–2004 in the National Nature Reserve Parížske
močiare marsh (SW Slovakia). There were not found
differences in diurnal patterns of occurrence of
the individual birds. The peaks in the birds’
activity were observed within 2.2–2.4 hours after
the sunrise and 3.1–3.6 hours before the sunset.
However, differences were found between the
morning and evening activities. In evenings, the
most active were the marsh and reed warblers; the
lowest activity was observed in the moustached and
sedge warblers. There were also found signiﬁcant
differences in daily activities between the
juvenile and adult reed warblers. These patterns
primarily reﬂect the migratory and foraging
strategies of the studied birds.

The study of song
structure and function in the Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
was caried out from 2003 to 2004 in the Záhorie
region and the Cerová vrchovina hills (West and
Central Slovakia). The main structure of song is
very simple. A song consists of strophes. The
strophes of a male differ only in the number of
elements that they include (strophe length =
strophe type). The observed males used strophe
consisting of only 3 types – between one and ﬁve
elements per strophe. As the strophe length
increased, the number of strophes per minute
decreased. Long time of singing caused that song
rate and number of strophes per minute decreased.
Most males were constant in the strophe-length
range that they used during the breeding season
(72.2%, n = 13). Changes in the song occured in 5
cases (27.8%). Number of elements per strophe
decreased and strophe length decreased. The time
of singing seems to reﬂect the strophe length.
Decrease in strophe length occurs after a long
period of continual singing. The strophe length
does not have an impact on the period of singing
time. The singing activity of Hoopoes is
concentrated mainly in the morning; however, the
maximum levels occur two hours after the sunrise.
Male singing activity is high during the prelaying
phase, both before and during the ﬁrst phase of
breeding period. In this time, song is used to
attract females. It decreases after the pair
formation and remains very low to the end of the
breeding attempt. During this phase, the paired
males use short songs to defend their territory,
females and to repel intruders. Non-breeding males
spend long periods of time singing and trying to
attract females during the whole breeding season.
Their songs are as long as the songs of the paired
males during the prelaying phase.

Výskyt
a
početnosť kormorána veľkého na Slovensku v zime
2004/2005

Occurrence and abundance
of the Great Cormorant in Slovakia in winter
2004/2005

Slovak Fishing
Association, the Society for the Protection of
Birds in Slovakia, and the State Nature
Conservancy organized a joint monitoring of the
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) running in
January, February and March 2005. The aim of this
unique action was to estimate a number of its
wintering population in Slovakia as consensus of
all mappers. The Cormorants were registered on
their night-roosting sites between the sunset and
the dark, simultaneously on the same day in each
month. There were recorded 7521–8436 individuals
of Cormorants on 59 roosting sites in January. We
expect that this number was equal to the total
wintering population of this species in Slovakia.
Altogether 6799–8719 individuals were observed in
26 night-roosting sites and other 29 dwelling
sites in February and 6292–7401 individuals in 23
night-roosting sites and 28 sites in March.

The ﬁrst record of
wintering Great White Egrets comes from 5th
February 1961 from locality Malý Dunaj –
Topoľníky. Number of records and abundance of
wintering Great White Egrets increased in
following years. Nowadays, Great White Egrets are
regular winter guests in Slovakia, mainly in the
area of Podunajská rovina plain and Borská nížina
lowland. This work offers complete chronological
survey of records of wintering Great White Egrets
in Slovakia in years 1961–2004.

Monitoring of the middle
reaches of the Hron River was performed during
three winter periods 2002/2003, 2003/2004 and
2004/2005 (November – March). On 11 controlled
localities (totally ca 100 km), were found 30
water bird species. The most frequent and abundant
species were Anas platyrhynchos, Phalacrocorax
carbo and Ardea cinerea (relative frequency 100%).
Mergus merganser (72.7%), Tachybaptus ruﬁcollis
(63.6%), Anas crecca (54.5%) and Fulica atra
(45.5%) were registered on Hron River very
frequently, too. No signiﬁcant seasonal trend was
found, except decrease towards to the end of
season, depending on spring migration. Abundance
of species strongly ﬂuctuated during winter, in
accord with the level of freeze.

The bird census was
carried out in Záhorie region in winter season
2004–2005. Number of 29 counters covered 65
localities. The whole section of the Morava River
in the Slovak territory and number of standing
waters were monitored during the census. Besides
the species living in winter in connection with
water, we have monitored also other species,
especially raptors and corvids. In total, 54 bird
species were recorded. The list of records from
the census offers a detailed overview of
particular observations.

Breeding bird assemblage
was investigated in a fragment of natural mature
ﬂood plain forest (54 years old, area of 3.6 ha in
an inundation zone of Danube River) during
breeding periods 2003 and 2004. There is
altitudinally differentiated landscape with ﬂooded
as well as non-ﬂooded areas in the studied plot,
however, during the breeding period; the majority
of the area is ﬂooded. Vegetation covers comprise
of the complex of Salici-Populetum
phragmiteto-caricetosum, Salici-Populetum typicum
and Salici-Populetum myosotidetosum
subassociations. Breeding bird assemblage was
investigated using spot-mapping method, combined
with the direct nest detection. Assemblage was
characterised by density (pairs/ 10ha), dominance
and Shannon’s Index of Diversity (H’). A total of
30 breeding bird species (H’ = 2.63) was recorded
during the research. Total density was 422 pairs/
10 ha; dominant was Sturnus vulgaris (19.2%),
Passer montanus (15.5%) and Sylvia atricapilla
(12.4%). The largest part of the assemblage was
created by tree-hollow nesting species (52.3%).

Within the environmental
impact assessment before building of a wind
electric power station, there were studied
ornithocoenoses in two localities within an
intensively used agricultural landscape in SW
Slovakia. The study ran for 12 months. The ﬁrst
study area was a 9.5 km long transect across the
territory of the planned power station, the second
one, an equivalent control locality of the same
size, was situated 4–8 km N from the ﬁrst.
Altogether 106 bird species (30 of them
nidiﬁcants) were found in both localities, from
which near Želiezovce it was in total 93 species
(30 of them nidiﬁcants) and near Tekovské Lužany
88 species (29 nidiﬁcants). There were analyzed
qualitative and quantitative structure of the
ornithocoenoses, the seasonal changes and ﬂight
levels of the species. In comparison with the
literature, there were found a negative population
trend and extinction in characteristic steppe-land
species over the past 50 years. According to the
preliminary monitoring, there can be expected
neither a danger of direct collisions of birds
with wind turbines nor irrecoverable losses in
foraging and breeding habitats. However, the
disturbing impact of the wind park on some
sensible species is disputable. The present
landscape structure was evaluated, too. Occurrence
of some rare bird species, e.g. Botaurus
stellaris, Ciconia nigra, Milvus migrans, Milvus
milvus, Aquila heliaca, Haliaeetus albicilla,
Circus pygargus, Falco peregrinus, Plectrophenax
nivalis, is commented.

In 1980–1990 was
recorded increased abundance and range trend of
the White-tailed Eagle throughout the Europe. This
trend inﬂuenced positively also situation during
breeding period in E Slovakia. The most frequent
observations were recorded in riparian forests of
the Latorica River in Východoslovenská rovina
ﬂoodplain, but without conﬁrmed breeding till now.
In 2002 built one pair the nest in Vihorlatské
vrchy Mts. near Zemplínska šírava water reservoir,
but this pair did not bred neither in 2002, nor in
2003. First breeding was documented and conﬁrmed
in 2004, when ﬂedged two chicks. Similar breeding
success was recorded in 2005, too.

The Goosander (Mergus
merganser) was repetitively observed during May
31, 2004 – June 12, 2004 at the river Hron near
the village Jalná (central Slovakia). Altogether,
two adult males and one adult female were found
within four consecutive controls. The last
observation of individuals was conducted on June
12, 2004, after this date no individual was
recorded during several spontaneous and detailed
visits (also using a boat). It is not known when
the goosanders came to the locality. Although
there is no direct evidence about the goosanders’s
nesting, the repetitive observations during the
breeding period as well as close afﬁnity to the
site show the high probability of nesting there.
The individuals occurred within the locality,
consisted mostly of the approximately 1.5 km long
river basin with two small islands together with
riparian habitats. The banks with 10–40 m wide
riparian forest were considered to be suitable for
the species’s nesting. Totally, 46 another bird
species were found within the studied area.
Furthermore, the possibility of this rare species
breeding at the studied locality as well as within
the whole territory of Slovakia is discussed in
the paper.

First records of the
Bee-eater were registered in the study area in
1998, although the area was regularly monitored
since 1989. Later, in 1999–2005 there were
observed its spreading in the Zvolen and
Podpoľanie areas. In 2005, there were found
altogether 15–22 pairs at six nest localities
(440–620 m a.s.l.), in three squares of Data Bank
of Slovak Fauna, where the breeding was not
documented yet. The ﬁrst spring observation was
registered on May 8, 2005 in the Podpoľanie area,
the last individuals were observed on August 15,
2005. Mean length of breeding tunnels was shorter
(< 100 cm) than in sandy areas of Southern
Slovakia (mean 130 cm). There was found high
breeding success in 2005(80%). In breeding
territories in Hriňová and Podpoľanie area bred
regularly the species like Lanius minor, Lanius
collurio, Sylvia nisoria, Miliaria calandra,
Turdus pilaris, further there were observed also
species of Carpathian forests Picoides
tridactylus, Nucifraga caryocatactes, Bonasa
bonasia. In breeding territories in locality
Gavurky bred species Lullula arborea, L. collurio,
S. nisoria, M. calandra, Upupa epops, Dendrocopos
medius, Picus viridis, Jynx torquilla, etc.
Altogether 34 insect species from 32 genera and
seven orders were found in the food using analysis
of 71 pellets and food remains (n = 401 prey
objects) in May – August 2005 in study localities.
High eudominant food components were
hymenopterans(82%), mainly bees(54.3%, ratio of
working bees and drones was 4:1), bumble bees
(13%) and wasps (8.7%), less beetles, mainly from
families Carabidae and Scarabeidae.

Tree sparrows (Passer
montanus) leave their breeding colonies after the
ﬂedging of the young. In ﬁrst days of September,
the moulted birds come round back to the breeding
colonies: males followed by females and ﬂedged
young. They perform their autumnal courtship –
creating pairs, building nests and copulating. The
young hatched at the second or the third breeding,
in dependence on the onset of winter, stop the
nest building in different phases or they
completely abandon the ﬁnishing. The tree sparrows
have their winter roosting sites in nests built at
time of their autumnal courtship. There have been
conducted experiments showing that, unlike in the
roosting outside holes, the energy savings are
directly proportional to the stage of the building
accomplishment, and the completely ﬁnished nests
feathered with own feather provide energy savings
up to 36%. It is possible that the just described
conﬁrmed wintering of sparrows from earlier
hatchings results from their more favourable odds
to build their own autumnal nests.

The Krupinská planina
Plateau is an extensive remnant of an upland
belonging to the volcanic neogenic structures in
central Slovakia. The highly diversiﬁed fauna
survives here thanks to the fairly well preserved
ecosystems. Their diversity enables the
overlapping of Mathran and Carpathian species. The
high value of the landscape is apparent in
localities with traditional ways of management –
scattered small farms. In this part of Slovakia is
situated the village of Cerovo. Here was born
Prof. Dr. O. Ferianc 100 years ago (July 8, 1905).
The paper is a compilation summarising the history
of ornithological studies and observations pursued
on birds of the Krupinská planina, beginning with
J. Šalamún Dobromil Petian–Petényi (1834) and J.
Schenk (1918) up to the present time: O. Ferianc,
Z. Feriancová-Masárová, J. Vachold, J. Salaj, J.
Darola, Š. Pavlík, A. Krištín and P. Kušík.

In 2004, 61 members of
Slovak Ornithological Society ringed altogether
33693 birds, of them 6062 were nestlings (17.9%).
The most frequently ringed species were Sylvia
atricapilla (3084 ind.), Larus ridibundus (2891
ind.), Erithacus rubecula (2472 ind.), Carduelis
spinus (1822 ind.) and Acrocephalus scirpaceus
(1067 ind.). The ringed birds belonged to 173
species. Lists of ten most frequently ringed
passerines and ten non-passerines are given. The
most frequently ringed young are also discussed.
Ringing of 18 species of European importance and
22 national protected species is analysed. Results
of re-trapping of two species ringed abroad and
found in Slovakia as well as nine species ringed
in Slovakia and retrapped abroad are given.